Public consultation on draft revised Application Papers on recovery and resolution
Comments due by 25 February 2026 24:00 CET
Background information
In December 2024, the IAIS adopted updates to the Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) and the Common Framework for the supervision of internationally active insurance groups (ComFrame), including recovery and resolution-related standards, which are part of the Holistic Framework for the assessment and mitigation of systemic risk in the insurance sector. These standards were updated to further enhance their clarity and incorporate lessons learned from their implementation. Notably, while also further aligning them with the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions.
The IAIS has now also reviewed and updated the existing Application Papers on recovery and resolution. These revisions provide further guidance on the updated ICPs and ComFrame standards, and provide insights into more recent practices and examples to support their application.
The papers cover the following topics related to ICP 12 (Exit from the market and resolution) and ICP 16.15 (Recovery planning), including their related ComFrame material, respectively:
Draft revised Application Paper on resolution powers, preparation and plans
- Objectives and concepts of resolution of insurers, including reinsurance-related considerations and descriptions of “no creditor worse off than in liquidation” (NCWOL) principle
- Concepts and examples of conditions for entry into resolution
- Descriptions and practical application of resolution powers
- Concepts and key aspects of preparation for resolution
- Objectives and key elements of a resolution plan, including a process for determining the need for a resolution plan
- Key elements of resolvability assessment and resolving identified impediments
- Cooperation and coordination amongst involved authorities both in normal and crisis times
Draft revised Application Paper on recovery planning
- Objectives and concepts of recovery planning, including a relationship with other enterprise risk management (ERM) tools, such as Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) and contingency plans
- Scope of application and proportionality of the requirement for a recovery plan
- Governance-related matters in recovery planning, including the development and approval process of a recovery plan and the relevant overall risk management of an insurer
- Key elements of a recovery plan and examples of their application
- The role of supervisors in recovery planning, including the assessment of recovery plans and supervisory cooperation and coordination
Feedback on the draft revised papers is invited by 25 February 2026 24:00 CET. All consultation questions are optional, so you may also comment on only one of the papers, or only on a subset of questions. After this deadline, the consultation tool will be closed, and it will no longer be possible to submit comments.
Please note that the following sections and boxes of each paper are not subject to the consultation, as they have undergone only minor editorial changes or no changes in content from the previous versions of the papers:
Resolution paper
- Section 1.3 Proportionality
- Section 1.7 Structure
- Section 2.1 Concepts
- Section 4.7 Bridge institution
- Box 6 TopCo versus OpCo strategy
- Section 6.4.8 Communication strategy
Recovery paper
- Section 1.1 Purpose
- Section 4.2 Governance: monitoring, escalation and activation processes
- Section 5.1 Executive abstract of the recovery plan
- Box 3 Examples of criteria (quantitative or qualitative)
- Section 5.4 Governance
- Box 4 Examples of recovery options
- Section 5.7 Stress scenarios
- Box 5 Examples of recovery scenarios
A public background session webinar will be held on 14 January 2026 14:00 – 15:00 CET to present the Application Papers and answer any questions from stakeholders. Click here for details and registration.
How to provide feedback:
The consultation is now open. Please use the consultation tool available at this link to provide your comments. Instructions for use are available when you access the tool. Only comments submitted through the tool will be considered. All comments will be published on the IAIS website unless the option in the tool to keep comments confidential is chosen.
Please note that some formatting (eg bullet points) may not be preserved when copying and pasting your comments into the consultation tool from other software such as Microsoft Word.